February 3, 2018

on: February 03, 2018

Gospel: Mk 6:30-34
The apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves. But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Reflections
LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD
In our society today, there are many voiceless people, oppressed people, people who do not know what direction in life they will take. They are like the crowd Jesus had compassion on because they were like “sheep without a shepherd”. There are the farmers in our country who are mostly tenants and do not have land of their own and who flock to the city looking for work. It is good that some of them have become organized and therefore have shepherds to guide them in their struggle for their rights. There are the urban poor who are also without power and cannot obtain the most basic necessities in life and the social
services that could ease their life lived in utmost poverty. There are the indigenous people who are overwhelmed by those who want to rob them of their ancestral lands and the treasures buried there. Not only are they driven away but their leaders are being killed by those who are supposed to protect them but instead protect the interests of the multinational mining corporations who exploit them. Maybe the ones who are truly lost are the refugees which until now are adrift at sea because they have not found a place to welcome them and to give them a home. In this year of compassion and mercy, we proclaim our solidarity with these groups of people and resolve to do whatever little we can to help alleviate their sufferings.